Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Veteran investor Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, says the U.S. dollar’s time is coming to an end as more countries are seeking alternatives to the USD. “Many friends of America are moving, trying to find something to compete with and ultimately replace the U.S. dollar. It will happen. It has always happened,” he warned. ‘American Dollar’s Time Is Coming to an End,’ Says Rogers Famed investor Jim Rogers shared why he expects the U.S. dollar to lose its status as the world’s reserve currency in an interview with Sputnik, published Wednesday. Rogers is George Soros’ former business partner who co-founded the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management. “Many friends of America are moving, trying to find something to compete with and ultimately replace the U.S. dollar. It will happen. It has always happened,” the famous investor began. He was quoted as saying: America’s time is coming to an end. The American dollar’s time is coming to an...

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki believes that the U.S. economy is headed for a crash landing. “I hope I am wrong yet that is what I believe,” he opined. The famous author also said a financial pandemic has started and corruption is high, reiterating his recommendation to buy gold, silver, and bitcoin. Robert Kiyosaki Believes a Crash Landing Is Coming The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, is back with more warnings about the U.S. economy. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Kiyosaki tweeted Thursday: Soft landing? Hard landing? Or Crash landing? I say crash landing. I hope I am wrong yet that is what I believe. “Corruption is high & leaders corrupt. Buy gold, silver, bitcoin. Still best insurance against corruption & incompetence,” hi...

In four days, representatives from the BRICS nations and the Eurasian Economic Union free trade group are set to convene to explore the possibility of integration with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as revealed by a recent russia-briefing.com report. The report emphasizes the formation of a vast Eurasian regional alliance that excludes Western involvement, with the aim of fostering greater collaboration and “reformatting the global economic architecture.” BRICS, EAEU, SCO to Discuss Moving Beyond Western Boundaries Russia Briefing, in its May 17, 2023 publication, unveiled an interesting development involving the convergence of several prominent nations. The leaders of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — are scheduled to convene with policymakers hailing from the Eurasian Economic Union free trade group (EAEU). Notably, the EAEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The primary objective of this gathering is t...

The Central Bank of Russia predicts an increase in the issuance of digital assets, citing some of their advantages. The monetary authority has published a report presenting the progress made by the growing industry and assessing the prospects for its further development. Russia’s Central Bank Issues Report on Market for Digital Assets The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) expects the volume of digital financial assets (DFAs) issued in the country to increase significantly in the future. The regulator believes that growth will be facilitated by the transparency and ease of use of these alternative instruments. According to a report quoted by the crypto page of the business news portal RBC, the bank also anticipates the emergence of new types of digital assets that will have no analogues in the traditional financial market and satisfy specific needs of businesses. DFAs, as a legal term, was introduced with the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in Ja...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  The Chinese autonomous region of Guanxi, located in the south of China, will implement a wide adoption plan for the digital yuan, that includes a push for using it as a trade currency with countries part of the ASEAN bloc. This pilot plan looks to be part of the experimentation to step up the usage of the currency at an international level. Chinese Region of Guanxi to Push Digital Yuan Usage for Trading With ASEAN Nations The Chinese government is stepping up the pilot program of the digital yuan, its central bank digital currency, in a push to integrate it into trade settlements with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc. According to reports from the local branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the Chinese autonomous region of Guanxi will implement various functions of the digital yuan at a nationwide level, and will also pioneer some u...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  About 40% of 153 African banks surveyed by the latest African Banker annual report said they regard “fintechs and telcos as high threats,” while 69% see artificial intelligence as the “most important technology shaping the industry in the near future.” According to the survey findings, only 28% of survey respondents confirmed that their respective institutions are spending more than $3 million “on digital transformation and innovation” annually. Fintechs Have Helped to Revolutionize Africa’s Banking Industry According to the latest African Banker annual report, of the 153 banks that were surveyed about 40% said they “regard fintechs and telcos as high threats.” The survey study also found that some 69% of the surveyed banks view artificial intelligence (AI) as the “most important technology shaping the industry in the near future.” A year earlier, about 74% of the banks had i...

Before taking the stage at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, U.S. presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized the democratic nature of bitcoin, calling it an “exercise in democracy.” Additionally, during his Florida appearance, Kennedy revealed that his campaign would accept bitcoin for political contributions. RFK Jr. Champions Bitcoin as a Democratic Tool, Now Accepts Leading Crypto for Campaign Contributions Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat challenging incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden, declared that his campaign would welcome bitcoin (BTC) donations. At the conference, Kennedy underscored the widely recognized connection between bitcoin and the pillars of democracy and liberty. If elected president, he pledged to “ensure the United States remains the global hub of bitcoin.” Many attendees at the Bitcoin 2023 conference expressed approval of Kennedy’s remarks. One individual tweeted , “Truly surreal to listen to a Kennedy speak to how his presidency would secur...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Binance Australia said on May 18 that it is “unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users” due to a third-party payment service provider’s decision to discontinue support for the crypto exchange. Binance Australia said while it works to find an alternative, users can still “buy and sell crypto using credit or debit cards.” Scott Collary, an executive at the service provider, claimed that “scammers are increasingly using overseas exchanges.” Binance Australia Seeks an Alternative Third-Party Payment Service Provider Crypto exchange Binance Australia announced on May 18 that it had “temporarily” suspended Australian dollar services after its payment service provider Westpac abruptly discontinued support for the platform. As a consequence, the crypto exchange said it is now “unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users.” The exchange warned users that t...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  On May 18, 2023, at block height 790,272, Bitcoin’s difficulty reached an all-time high after rising 3.22% on Thursday. The network’s difficulty is now at an impressive 49.55 trillion, or 0.90% away from 50 trillion hashes, making it the most difficult it has ever been to discover a block reward. Bitcoin’s Difficulty Rises to Uncharted Territory, Straining Miners This year, Bitcoin once again broke a record as the network’s difficulty jumped by 3.22% , rising to an unprecedented height of 49.55 trillion . The network’s difficulty is a measure of how hard it is to find a hash value that meets the required criteria for a new block to be added to the Bitcoin blockchain. Notably, the recent rise in difficulty followed a 1.45% drop at block height 788,256, where the chain’s difficulty remained at 48.01 trillion for approximately two weeks. ​​Bitcoin miners are currently dedicati...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Cosmos fell to a key price floor on Friday, as bearish sentiment returned to cryptocurrency markets. Volatility has been high most of the week, with today seeing the global market cap drop by 0.95% as of writing. Chainlink also slipped in today’s session. Cosmos ( ATOM ) Cosmos ( ATOM ) dropped to a key support point on Friday, as bearish sentiment returned to the market. Following a high of $10.92 on Thursday, ATOM /USD slipped to an intraday bottom of $10.50 earlier in the day. The drop in price saw the token collide with its long-term floor, with bulls opting to buy the dip from that point. At the time of writing, ATOM is trading at $10.61, which is still almost 3% lower than yesterday’s peak. From the chart, it appears that the shift in momentum came after a failed breakout of a ceiling of 48.00 on the relative strength index (RSI). The index is now tracking at 40.7...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  During the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami, bitcoin mining rig producer Microbt unveiled three new additions to their Whatsminer series. The latest Whatsminer models, namely the M50S++, M53S++, and M56S++, boast hashpower ranging from 150 terahash per second (TH/s) to an impressive 320 TH/s. Microbt Introduces Cutting-Edge Whatsminer Models at Bitcoin 2023 This week at Miami’s Bitcoin 2023 event, Microbt introduced three distinct application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining devices. “Microbt is glad to release three new models of Whatsminer M50 series at Bitcoin 2023 which are air-cooling M50S++, hydro-cooling M53S++ and immersion cooling M56S++,” the company tweeted on May 18. Micorobt’s three new miners are expected to be released to the general public this month. The newly released models offer significantly more hashpower compared to previous iteratio...

Bitcoin once again fell below the $27,000 level on Friday, ahead of a panel discussion which includes Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell will be holding a discussion with former Chair Ben Bernanke at a conference in Washington. Ethereum was marginally lower today. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) dropped below the $27,000 mark on Friday, ahead of a panel discussion which will include Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Markets anticipate some forward guidance from Powell regarding future decisions that the Federal Reserve could take in coming months. Following a high of $27,466.53 on Thursday, BTC /USD dropped to an intraday low of $26,415.10 earlier today. Bitcoin chart by TradingView The move, which saw the price fall by over $1,000, pushed bitcoin towards a key price floor at $26,300. Friday’s slippage occurred as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) once again dropped below a resistance of its own at the 42.00 mark. Price strength is now tracking at 40.83, with bears possibly targetin...

Eurozone banks are profitable but the benefits from higher interest rates may be smaller than expected, according to the deputy head of the single currency area’s monetary authority. The official noted that while most of the tightening has been done already, more rate increases are to come. Euro Banks Have Solid Fundamentals, ECB’s de Guindos Says, Rate Raises to Continue The turmoil in the eurozone’s banking sector has been “short-lived” due to limited exposure to bank stress in the U.S. and Switzerland and shielding regulations, Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Luis de Guindos said during a banking conference in Spain. Euro area banks are weathering the storm also thanks to solid fundamentals in key areas such as resilience, liquidity, and profitability, the high-ranking official emphasized. However, he also thinks there is no room for complacency amid a challenging outlook that creates uncertainties. “While higher interest rates boost banks’ net interest income...

Cryptocurrency proponents in the United States are facing increasing challenges when it comes to utilizing digital assets for expenditures. Several crypto companies have encountered difficulties in securing banking partners. This week, Bitpay, a prominent player in the crypto payments sector, made an announcement regarding the termination of its current Bitpay prepaid Mastercard program. This decision follows the end of its partnership with Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Crypto Payment Giant Bitpay Ends Prepaid Mastercard Program Bitpay , the Atlanta-based crypto payments company, has made the decision to halt its prepaid Mastercard program, rendering the card unusable for Bitpay Mastercard holders after the specified deadline. Breaking the news through a series of informative tweets on May 18, 2023, Bitpay also notified cardholders via email . Urging users to promptly terminate any recurring payments linked to the prepaid card, the company has set June 1, 2023, as the final day for...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  The digital ruble law project, which was already discussed and approved in its first reading, could be passed in June, according to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee. The Bank of Russia is currently waiting for the enactment of this ruleset to conduct a live test of the CBDC’s (central bank digital currency) capabilities with real users. Digital Ruble Law to Be Passed in June, According to State Duma Official The race to have a digital ruble cryptocurrency law approved in Russia is coming to an end. The Russian State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament) has estimated that the digital ruble — the Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC) — cryptocurrency law might be approved in June, according to statements from the chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee Anatoly Aksakov. On Tuesday, Aksakov stated : The bill on...

The governments of Russia and Iran are starting to phase out the usage of the U.S. dollar to conduct bilateral trade settlements. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that 80% of Russia-Iran trade transactions are settled using national currencies and that they are considering also the usage of the Chinese yuan. 80% of Russia-Iran Trade Settlements Involve National Currencies Russian and Iran have started to phase out the usage of the U.S. dollar in their bilateral trade settlements. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the call to use national currencies, including the Russian ruble and the Iranian rial, has been effective, leaving only a small amount of these transactions still relying on the U.S. dollar. After meeting with Iranian officials, Novak stated : We discussed these issues in great detail today, and both the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia were present, as were our Iranian counterparts. I believe approximately 80% of o...

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the commencement of its e-HKD pilot which “will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories.” The pilot paves the way for “the possible implementation of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC),” the central banking institution explained. Pilot Program for e-HKD Begins The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Thursday “the commencement of the e-HKD Pilot Programme.” The central banking institution revealed that 16 firms from the financial, payment, and technology sectors have been selected to participate in the first round of e-HKD pilots for 2023. The HKMA detailed: The pilots will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions, and settlement of tokenized assets. “The HKMA will conduct a series of pilots in close collaboration with various stakeholders to ex...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that Venezuela will shift away from using U.S. dollars in trade, emphasizing that the de-dollarization process is “inevitable.” He described: “This is the path of Venezuela and the path of a free economy where currencies are not used to punish countries and impose sanctions.” Venezuela Shifting Away From USD in Trade The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, said on his weekly “Con Maduro +” program earlier this week that Venezuela will shift away from using the U.S. dollar in trade. Commending Zimbabwe for its initiative to issue gold-backed digital currency, he said (as translated from Spanish by Google): Many alternative initiatives to the dollar are emerging in the world. We could say that we are beginning to experience a sustained accelerated process of de-dollarization of the commercial world — of world trade. He added that it would be good for Venezuela to study these initiatives, emphasizing that the process of de-doll...

Interest rate hikes in the euro area are already causing a decline in housing investment, the zone’s central bank revealed in a study. While smaller than in the United States, the impact of the monetary policy tightening on the Old Continent is likely to grow further, the regulator expects. Housing Investment in Europe Declining Amid ECB’s Rate Increases The series of rate hikes announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) is already depressing housing spending across the eurozone, the monetary authority has established in a study , the results of which were published on its website on Wednesday. The findings come after in early May the ECB raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps), slowing the pace from previous increases. The bank has raised them by a total of 375 bps since last July, Reuters noted in a report. The impact of the rate hikes on home purchases in Europe is likely to increase in the future, although it will remain smaller than that in the United States...

Sleeping Bitcoin Wallet Awakens: $3.7M Worth of BTC Suddenly Moves After Close to 12 Years of Dormancy  Court documents filed on May 17, 2023, reveal that current executives overseeing FTX and its subsidiary, Alameda Research, have initiated a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, Nishad Singh, FTX’s former director of engineering, and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, co-founder of FTX. The legal action stems from the exchange’s ambitious FTX Stocks project, which was being pursued alongside the acquisition agreement with Embed, a stock clearing service. Legal Battle Ensues as FTX Executives Accuse Former CEOs of Fraud in Relation to FTX Stocks Venture Representatives for FTX Limited and the subsidiaries Alameda Research and West Realm Shires (WRS) are suing three former FTX executives over a deal the company now believes is “worthless.” Prior to FTX’s bankruptcy protection filing, Bankman-Fried, Singh, and Wang allegedly purchased a stock clearing firm and FINRA-license...

Between 2017 and 2022, hacking groups affiliated with North Korea are thought to have stolen crypto assets worth $721 million from Japan alone. According to the findings of a study by Elliptic, hackers were primarily focused on Japan and Vietnam because operators from the two countries had lax security systems. Japan Losses Equivalent to 30% of the Global Total According to the findings of a study conducted by the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, North Korea coordinated cyber attacks targeting Japanese crypto assets netted $721 million worth of digital assets between 2022 and 2017. This figure is equivalent to 30% of total global losses that have been attributed to North Korea-affiliated hacker groups. As per the report in Nikkei Asia, which commissioned the study, the value of crypto assets stolen from Japan alone is 8.8 times more than North Korea’s 2021 export figure. While the cyber attackers are thought to have targeted several countries, the Nikkei report suggested tha...